About Us
Maitri Learning creates educational materials that are research-based, accurate, beautiful, durable, and usable. Maitri Learning was founded somewhat accidentally by a Montessori teacher who was trying to buy the perfect materials for her classroom and couldn't find them anywhere. Now, the materials she created (based specifically on the precise directions received in her AMI training) are used by Montessori teachers, parents, and teacher trainers around the world. We are named after the Buddhist word maitri which means 'having a compassionate, kind heart.' We keep the principle of maitri at the front of all of our business decisions.
When you order Maitri Learning materials you can be confident that you are receiving materials of the highest educational value. All of our materials are designed by a Montessori teacher and rigorously reviewed and tested by Montessori teacher trainers, teachers, and children before they are offered for sale. Our research-based materials contain exactly what you and your children need and nothing else.
Maitri is a green, eco-friendly, fair-wage, right-livelihood, woman-owned business. We pay all of our employees at least $15/hour, which should be our country's national minimum wage. Our prices reflect these fair labor costs along with the higher costs of environmentally-sound paper, toxin-free laminate, and inks made without ozone-depleting substances.
"Parts of" External Anatomy
"Parts of" the Ant 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Bird 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Butterfly3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Fish 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Flag 3-Part Reading
$11.95 USD
"Parts of" the Flower (Dicot) 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Flower (Monocot) 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Frog 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Horse 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Katydid3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Leaf3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Lobster3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Sea Star (Starfish)3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Snail3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Spider3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Tree3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
"Parts of" the Turtle 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD
Botany "Parts of" 3-Part Set
$69.95 USD
Imperfect "Parts of" the Frog 3-Part Reading
$18.95 USD $6.95 USD
Imperfect "Parts of" the Horse 3-Part Reading
$6.50 USD
Movable Alphabets
Traditional Movable Alphabet
$29.95 USD
Spanish Movable Alphabet
$29.95 USD
Alphabet Box: New!
$13.95 USD
Montessori for Adults
Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents
$9.95 USD
Montessori Language Approach by Muriel Dwyer
$7.00 USD
Child of the World
$14.95 USD
Montessori Pedagogy Blog
Intervening with Tough Behavior
I have been amazed again and again at how effective these gentle, indirect approaches can be for the young child. We don't even admit that anything untoward happened in the moment. We just redirect the attention and move on. Then, later (see below), we come back and teach the preferred behaviors that may have prevented the conflict. By so doing, we avoid the common trap of making some children "bad" kids. If we call out their name or emphasize the problem, we draw the attention of the entire room to the negative event. But if we discretely redirect the attention, we do not inadvertently contribute to a culture of negativity in the room.
When you must address the conflict head-on, do so directly and briefly—no lectures, no big conversations or explanations. Speak directly to the issue just as Mr. Brown said in the video. You might say, “No, we do not hit each other at school.” It’s important to add this last prepositional phrase because it may be the case that the children witness people being hit regularly in other environments. We don’t want to create further confusion if the child is seeing different behaviors in different settings. Remember that children will naturally adapt to the behaviors they see around them…the good, the bad, and the ugly. And, they see their ‘people’ as normal no matter if they act like Barak Obama, Queen Elizabeth, or a bully.
Which font: Print, Italic, or Cursive?
When we begin our own primary (ages 3 to 6+) classrooms, we need to make a decision about our sandpaper letters and movable alphabet--which font do we choose? But, many of us inherit a classroom and must use the font we have. Or, we must follow the culture of our school so there is consistency from room to room. In any event, this is a topic Montessori guides consider deeply.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any specific, convincing studies that directly answer the question of which font is preferred. This is why Maitri Learning offers our movable alphabets in all three of the fonts commonly used for the sandpaper letters.
The question of font, however, has been indirectly answered.
Fade and Observe
“Old Montessorians never die, they just fade and observe.”
- Author unknown
I was observing in a primary classroom the other day when I saw an utterly enthralled 4-year-old boy doing the hand washing work. His hands were in the beautiful blue and white basin and he was smiling as he turned the water over and under each hand.
Soon he let out a sigh which apparently meant he was ready for the next step. He lifted his hands out of the basin, dried them on the towel, grasped the sides of the basin, and went to empty it. But into what? The perfectly coordinated pail was sitting ready for him on the shelf beneath the basin but it went completely unnoticed. Instead, the boy put the basin back on the table and placed the matching blue and white pitcher on the ground in front of the table. He then proceeded to meticulously pour the basin water into the wide-mouth of the pitcher! No easy task, let me assure you, yet very little water was spilled.
